


Daddy Duty

by creatividadqueamo



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Adult Language, Baby Peter, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, super family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-16
Updated: 2013-01-16
Packaged: 2017-11-25 19:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/641990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creatividadqueamo/pseuds/creatividadqueamo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Previously posted on FF) Tony Stark and Steve Rogers had certainly improved their attitudes since the Loki attack; they had even become friends, but they definitely weren't ready to take care of a baby together. However, they are the only ones who can properly protect the fragile little Peter from danger. They never would have guessed how the little spider would affect their lives... or their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daddy Duty

Chapter One: Favorites and Failures  
Tony would never admit it, but Steve was definitely his favorite. After having lived with the guy for a little over a year in the Avenger’s Tower, Tony just couldn’t help falling into the likable trap that was Captain America. He supposed it was part of being completely and unarguably good in every freaking way. However frustrating that was to Tony- who was quite the opposite- he couldn’t keep fighting with the guy. Not even his Stark blood could protect him from the dejected puppy look that the guy adopted when there were altercations between team mates.  
On days that the world didn’t need saving, Steve spent a lot of time sitting in an arm chair in Tony’s workshop, where he could get the best lit view of the cityscape in the entire tower. Tony begrudgingly shared his work space- Steve didn’t exactly give him a choice; he had no tolerance for Tony’s antics- and eventually, Steve began to belong there as much as any of Tony’s machines.  
So, because Steve was his favorite, Tony didn’t mind when Fury ask them to work on a top secret mission together without the other avengers. That is, until he heard what the mission was.  
“Fuck no. I am not playing babysitter for you.” Tony spat at Fury from his chair in the debriefing room. He gripped the edge of the table in a white knuckled grip, trying to regain his normal snarky distaste for authority. He was trying to get over the initial panic attack that had ensued after the word “baby” had left the directors ever frowning mouth.  
“Sir, with all due respect, I must agree with Tony. Caring for an infant is not something to be taken lightly; putting him in the care of people who have no experience and little aptitude would be negligent. The baby wouldn’t be safe with us. We need to be ready to deploy with the other Avengers at anytime; taking care of a child just doesn’t fit into that equation.”  
Tony gave a silent thanks that the Captain agreed with him. Tony had a tendency to just leave people with a resounding, indisputable “no” rather than giving a logical argument. If Steve had decided that it was a good idea, there was no way Tony would’ve been able to say no to his logic, let alone his puppy dog eyes, no matter how petrified he was of children.  
Fury sighed and leaned against the counter. “Look. I know this isn’t up your alley, but this kid needs to be protected. His father is a brilliant scientist and is involved with some major threat. He only agreed to help us if we keep his son safe. A simple enough request, right? Except that every nanny turns out to be a spy, and the guards almost lost him like six times already. The kid is in serious danger, and it’s your job to protect people. Right now you’re not needed on a citywide scale. We need someone strong and vigilant and responsible-“ Tony shot Steve a look saying he-means-you-dude. “and somewhere he can be kept safe.”  
Tony glared at him resentfully while Steve wavered over his instinctive need to protect innocents and his common sense. “You can’t be serious? Why not Coulson? You guys can keep him in the hulk tank or something. I can’t even take care of myself; I guarantee that an infant would not survive me.”  
Steve agreed silently, which would have been insulting to Tony if it didn’t serve his purposes. Fury glared with his good eye. “We just covered this,” the director ground out. “Rogers is the responsible one, the one that could care for a child, while you could provide protection through your security systems and technology.” Tony just gave him a disbelieving look and opened his mouth to ward off the on slot of logic only to be cut off. “We had him in a hospital last week and an assassin just strutted in the room like he owned the place. Nearly cut the kid’s head clean off. He wouldn’t have been able to do that if Jarvis had been there to tell you about the threat. I hate to feed the colossal forest fire that is your all-consuming ego, but I have to admit that even SHIELD would have trouble getting past Jarvis; any threat would have to go through Jarvis and Iron Man.”  
Fury silently raised an eyebrow at the pair. Steve seemed to have lost the last bit of resistance at the mention of decapitations while Tony was still struggling to beat back the sheer panic of being responsible for a baby. An infant. He felt a chill go down his spine. He couldn’t deal with that; he was convinced that he was going to make a worse father than all the Starks before him. Anyone who had seen the way his father was with him would vow that it was nearly impossible, but Tony knew better.  
Even if it was temporary- Fury had said six months at most- Tony knew that he would break any child placed in his care. He feared for any innocent placed in his care. He would hurt the baby, undoubtedly.  
He knew it was irrational, but he couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself after he screwed up.  
“Tony…” Steve gave Tony a sideways, sheepish look. Tony just stared at him for a moment, caught in the pleading depths of his blue eyes. He knew that he had lost as soon as Fury had started in on how much danger the child was in. He would never be able to get out of it now that Steve was on board.  
He considered throwing a tantrum, but decided against it. Steve would have none of his shit, and he knew it. I’m so done for. He thought bitterly as he glared at Steve.  
“Fine. Fine. Let’s be daddies. Great. I will not be responsible for this child, understood? I will amp up my kick ass security system; I will destroy any threats with malice and a whole lot of vindictive satisfaction, but I will not be changing diapers or feeding or any of that grossness.” Tony dared Steve to challenge him with a glare and an irritated frown.  
Steve smiled sadly. “Why do I have to do all the hard work?”  
Fury gave them both a nod and handed them both the boy’s file. “You are not to attend to any other post or mission until I say so; this means you stay close enough to the kid to defend him at all times. Stark, as soon as the security is finished, we will have Peter moved to your New York estate where you and Rogers will be staying for the duration of your mission. Good luck, gentlemen. You’re now on full time daddy duty.”  
Chapter Two: The Realization of Unfortunate Facts.  
Steve was packing his bag when Tony called him for the fifth time. He sighed sadly as he looked at the caller ID. He was already sad about having to move out of the tower where the rest of his family (the avengers) resided, and Tony’s constant panic was sort of troublesome. What am I going to do with you, Tony? He thinks as he brings the phone to his ear.  
“Tony?”  
“Oh thank goodness. I thought you’d forgotten which button to push again. Hey, at least I didn’t video call you this time.” Steve shuddered at the memory. How he hated technology. “Look, Cap. I just have one more question. I just finished putting the pressure sensors in the stairs- just a precaution; I know he won’t be able to get past Jarvis- and was trying to think of anything else that I could do to safe proof the house. At this point it’s sort of a fortress. Then it occurred to me that you’re supposed to like… baby- proof stuff.”  
Steve sighed again. “Tony…”  
“How does one go about doing that? What exactly does that entail? What’s the point?” Steve could almost see Tony pacing in his mansion. One of the most admirable and despicable things about Tony was how invested he became in his projects; nothing was ever done halfway with him.  
“Tony-“  
“Oh, and do you think it would help you if I made a robot that could change diapers? I already made a crib that rocks itself and sings lullabies-“  
“What? Tony, stop. Calm down, would you? Your job is to make sure no one can get to him but us. Just make sure no one that you don’t trust with your life can get into the house. That means that you have to clean it yourself, no maids or servants.” Steve rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t understand why Tony was acting so… odd. Ever since they got the assignment, he had been more eccentric than normal. He knew there was something wrong, but Tony absolutely refused to admit to it, and he knew better than to push the issue.  
“That’s all taken care of. Servant robots are easy. Diaper robots aren’t though. I don’t even know how to change a diaper.” Tony let out a strangled cry. “Jarvis! You let them clean my lab?!”  
Steve chuckled; cleaning robots indeed. “I’ll let you go then. Fury and the kid will be there at three. See you then.” He pressed the obnoxious red button on the screen and threw the phone in his bag with more force than necessary.  
After he finished packing, he gave the tower a solemn farewell and made his way to the mansion. Halfway there, he saw a sleek black car lying upside down on the side of the road, fire pooling around the engine compartment as gas leaked out.  
He took a third of a second to wonder how he was always the one that came across these freak accidents before leaping into action. He had viciously ripped the door off the driver’s side before he realized that it was one of SHIELD’s SUVs. He pulled an unconscious Fury out of the driver’s seat and turned his attention to the back seat, where Coulson had wrapped himself around a little crying bundle to protect it from the twisted metal and glass.  
Steve felt relief flood him when Coulson started to move; he had grown attached to the agent after they had found out he survived the Loki attack. Steve pulled him out of the car and helped him to his feet.  
Remarkably uninjured, Coulson was able to stumble a few yards before the SUV blew up. Steve barely managed to keep Coulson from crushing the baby in his arms as they were blown off their feet.  
Surprise, surprise: five or ten masked men appeared, clearly responsible for the latest attempt on the baby’s life. One of them took aim at the baby, disregarding the fact that he would hit Coulson too.  
Steve hadn’t realized that he didn’t actually believe that someone would try to kill an infant when Fury had told them, but the inevitable acceptance of the facts before him made him incredibly, indescribably pissed off. Fortunately, Steve had his shield on him and had absolutely no trouble destroying every single one of his opponents.  
After all of them were on the ground unconscious, he let out a satisfied huff. He felt protective of the baby already, and anyone who would try to kill an innocent in cold blood deserved to die. Fury, who had woken up half way through the fight, already had SHIELD reinforcements on hand, one of which had taken the baby from Coulson.  
Steve promptly approached the young agent and held out his arms expectantly. “I’ll take that.” He practically growled, causing the agent to go livid and quickly hand over the sobbing child.  
Steve held the baby as gently as he possibly could, fearing his super strength would be a problem. He gently rocked the baby and cooed slightly, remembering when he was growing up and his mother’s friends would bring over their babies before the depression.  
Little Peter- Steve had to think to remember his name- stopped crying and hiccupped, staring at Steve with intelligent brown eyes. He let out a sad noise and reached his little hands up to make little grabby gestures at Steve’s nose. Steve was instantly taken, swearing that the little creature was the cutest thing on the whole damn planet. He would have sworn in front of the entire nation that he had never seen anything more adorable in all his ninety something years than Peter wrapping his little fingers around his dog tags and giggling as he played with them.  
He protectively held on to the child as the SHIELD agents struggled to contain the situation and get themselves organized. At least six different scrambled, panicked agents stopped and tried to relieve him of his charge. He simply glared at them and growled at them to do something more constructive while he continued to hug the baby to his chest.  
Needless to say, Fury, who was ironically furious about the whole situation, called in an armored convoy to take them the last four miles to the mansion.  
After they departed, the last, unnoticed masked man spoke into his walkie-talkie quietly while he watched the remaining SHIELD agents clean up with a shaken look. “The target has been transferred to the hands of Captain America. We’re going to need reinforcements. A lot of reinforcements.”  
Chapter Three: Even a Metal Heart Can be Soft  
“Steve, you have had that kid here for three fucking hours, and you’ve already been down here twelve times. What do you think that I know that you don’t know? I’m trying to fend of relentless, blood sucking hackers here.” Tony leveled Steve with a baleful glare that only softened when he got a look at Steve’s face.  
“Tony, I just want you to watch him to ten seconds so I can go to the gym. I’m going to end up crushing him; I’m just too damn strong and have too much pent up energy.” Steve’s puppy dog eyes were a force to be reckoned with.  
“Steve, I wasn’t kidding about the hackers.” Tony looked back at his computer screens and tried to look busy.  
“Don’t give me that. There is no way that Jarvis could hack shield and not be able to fend off a few security breaches.”  
“Sir, he is correct. I have affectively infiltrated and disabled all threats.” Tony glared at the treacherous ceiling that he often imagined was the embodiment of his clever AI. “I even managed to make their computers catch on fire, just as you requested, sir.” Tony also imagined that his AI was trying to make Tony less angry with his traitorous words by making things blow up from a distance.  
It worked. “Awesome. Fine; I’ll watch the brat. I’ll give you no more than an hour, got it?” Tony tried to let Steve’s amazing and gratified smile make him less petrified of the task at hand. Which, of course, didn’t work at all. “Wait, what am I saying? I can’t take care of a child. I’ll break it.”  
“Tony, you can’t break a child. Just give him what he wants when he cries and make sure no one climbs through the air vents to kill him.” Steve turned and casually headed for the door to the lab, followed reluctantly by the genius.  
“But Steve…” Tony whined. “I put cameras and sensors in the air vents; you think I could live with Clint for a year and not learn my lesson? This house is impenetrable. Can’t we just leave it alone?” Tony knew the answer was no. He just felt like whining dramatically.  
Steve shot him a look that said in no certain terms that he would not fall for Tony’s act, and that he would not put up with any of Tony’s shit. Tony sighed, seeing defeat just before it hit him brutally in the face.  
They made their way up to the nursery, where the baby was asleep in his crib after having cried for two hours after the “accident,” as Steve had called it. Tony reluctantly walked to the edge of the crib and peered inside, expecting the baby to break out in a sobbing fit at his mere presence.  
The baby had other plans, however, and stayed fast asleep, gently sucking on his thumb. “What’s his name again?” Tony whispered.  
“Peter. Ask Jarvis if you have any questions. I’ll be back in an hour.” Tony watched Steve go with a startling sense of dread. He quietly sat on one of the rocking chairs in the large nursery that Tony had built.  
He had refused to let anyone else in to do the repairs and simply had an interior designer send him plans for a happy, baby boy’s room. He thought that it had turned out fairly well and had added his own personal touch by putting rockets and cartoon robots on the walls and ceiling.  
Steve had scoffed when he saw the room, but Tony liked it. If he’d been cognisant as an infant, he would have loved a room like that. He quietly played with the designs to the latest Stark tech on one of his many tablets, muttering quietly to Jarvis to run simulations and take measurements.  
It had been a whopping thirty minutes before the baby woke. Tony felt his entire body tense up when a small whine erupted from the crib followed by the rustling of his little blankets. Tony knew that, since he was nearly a year old, he didn’t need to worry about the baby suffocating itself, but he rushed to crib anyway.  
The baby blinked blearily up at the genius, letting out another whine that wasn’t entirely unhappy but not exactly joyful either. Tony felt as if the kid’s big brown eyes were studying him, sizing him up. The boy let out a little hiccup and raised his hands, making a grabby gesture with pudgy fingers. Tony very carefully lowered a hand into the crib, checking that it was clean and not covered in grease first. Little Peter latched onto Tony’s index finger with impressive strength and played with it silently.  
After a few minutes, Tony’s fear of hurting the child faded slightly though he was still thoroughly disgusted by the spit bubbles. He ignored them and tickled the child’s belly gently. “You’re not so bad, are you kid?” Peter giggled in delight and contently grabbed at Tony’s dancing fingers.  
Tony officially lost it when Peter raised his big, baby eyes up to his and smiled. Tony felt like it was impossible for a being incapable of true, ordered thought to convey so much with a smile. Could something that didn’t think feel emotion? A baby shouldn’t be able to look at someone and say, “I like you. Will you stay?” with a look.  
Tony recoiled from the warm coil of attachment he felt stirring in his chest. “Stop that. You’re going to make me like you.” Tony carefully removed his hand from Peter’s grasp and lowered a teddy bear in the crib instead. He seemed happy with that, but was less enthusiastic about playing with the bear than he’d been with Tony’s fingers. Tony sat back in his rocking chair. The rest of the hour passed uneventfully and Steve returned, freshly showered and looking pleasantly tired.  
He went to the crib and pulled out a giggling Peter, happily letting the child play with his dog tags again. “I see you didn’t kill him. Good job. Did he give you any trouble?”  
Tony stood and cracked his back. “Not really. He’s actually not all that bad. I thought there would be more screaming and pooping and less slobbery smiling.” Tony gave the child an unimpressed look that barely covered the amount of fondness Tony already had for the kid.  
Peter turned his head to look at Tony, recognizing the man’s voice. He gave a happy gurgle and a smile, reaching his arms toward him before turning back to Steve with an annoyed look. He gave an unpleasant whine and a screech, making grabby gestures in Tony’s direction. Steve frowned down at the child for a moment before he gave Tony a forlorn look.  
“He wants you to hold him.”  
Tony’s face went pale. “Nuh-uh.” He shook his head and put his hands in front of himself as if it would protect him from the child. The fearful look only prompted Peter to break out in tears and unhappy squeals.  
“He won’t settle down until you do.”  
“No. I’ll drop him.”  
Steve gave Tony a very irritated look. “You will take him, or I will knock you out and put him in your lap so he stops crying.”  
Tony gave Steve a terrified and pleading look that actually made Steve falter slightly. He hadn’t realized that Tony was genuinely afraid of hurting the child. “It’s easy; I’ll teach you.” He gently approached the cornered genius and directed him to sit in the rocking chair. He showed Tony how to hold his arms and put the bundle of baby carefully into them. Tony seemed to get how to hold the baby’s head and keep him comfortable instinctively so Steve just stood back and watched while Tony held the crying baby.  
“Don’t cry, little guy. Throwing tantrums to get what you want isn’t an attractive thing to do; believe me, I would know.” Peter seemed to calm down once he opened his weeping eyes enough to see Tony’s big, frightened eyes. He hiccupped and made a pathetic noise while he searched for Tony’s fingers to play with.  
He found the glow of the arc reactor instead and played with the fabric of his shirt and the edge of the reactor instead of Tony’s fingers. He started giggling again and the tears had just started to dry when he dosed off in Tony’s arms.  
Tony stayed silent the whole time, staring at the child with wide eyes in the glow of the overhead lights and the arc reactor. When the baby had drifted off, Steve stepped forward to take the baby away.  
Tony instinctively shied away from the super soldiers open arms, not wanting to let go just yet. His logical mind quickly caught up to him though, prompting him to hand the little creature off rather than keep him safely tucked in his arms forever.  
He put on an air of relief for Steve, keeping up the appearance of a man with a heart of metal. Inwardly, he missed and craved the warmth of little Peter had left behind.  
Oh, I am so done for.  
Chapter Four: The Angel’s Web  
Peter was an angel. For the first two weeks of their assignment, Peter was a picture of the perfect baby. He slept all through the night and only cried when he was really hungry or uncomfortable or when Tony refused to hold him. Most of the time he just crawled around on the floor and played with the blocks Tony gave him; none of his other toys got much attention.  
He seemed a lot smarter than a normal baby; Tony was convinced that he would be a genius someday though he worried that the child should have started walking and talking by then.  
Needless to say, it was confusing to Steve when Peter started acting up. He would wake up in the middle of the night and wail for hours until Tony got annoyed enough to come down and let the kid play with the arc reactor until he fell asleep.  
Tony stayed utterly silent every time. The two adults hardly spoke when they weren’t in the nursery. Tony was always busy in his lab upgrading the Iron Man suit and the security system. He’d already had two major security breaches- major being that they broached the perimeter and were promptly forced to retreat by his impressive weaponry and Jarvis. He didn’t sell weapons anymore, that didn’t mean he couldn’t create them.  
Peter seemed partial to the two men, but that didn’t keep him from screaming at three in the morning every night after their fifteenth day together.  
Surprisingly, Tony arrived at the room first this time. “What is it going to take to keep you from screaming, kid?” Tony stopped dead when the screaming stopped abruptly and there was a small shuffling sound near the crib. He rushed over to the kid’s bed side only to be confronted with one of the most disturbing sights he’d ever encountered. The arc reactor glowed brighter, illuminating the room with an eerie blue light as Tony’s heart rate sky rocketed. The once happy crib was covered with a white stringy substance that Tony’s brain dimly connected with arachnids.  
“Fuck.” Tony didn’t think before he dug his hands into the strings and pulled as hard as he could. The strings barely gave and stuck to the engineer’s hands like super glue. Several explosive expletives later, Tony had disentangled his hands, leaving them throbbing and red.  
He heard a little whimper from inside the entangled crib and let out a panicked, undignified noise. “Jarvis, get Steve in here now… and my tool kit. Fuck.” He kept tugging at the web- his mind had assigned it that title without asking him- in a desperate attempt to free the child.  
When Steve arrived, Tony was up to his elbows in the sticky substance, having made a small enough whole to see the child. Tony was silently offering the kid his fingers to play with to comfort him while they tried to get him out of the webbed crib.  
Steve was instantly next to him, looking for a weak spot in the strings to attack. He was more effective at the ripping the strings, but not enough to get Peter out. He was crying quietly at the distress he could see emanating off the men.  
When one of Tony’s robots showed up with is tool kit, he was able to take a side of the crib and cut the webs holding it in place. He gently pulled Peter out and collapsed on his back side with the kid in his lap. Little Peter made a delighted sound and started playing with the arc reactor once again.  
He gave a small sigh of relief before Steve began to panic. “Tony, how did this happen?” He gestured wildly to the crib, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair. He paced angrily and gave Tony an angry look.  
“Jarvis, pull up security footage.” Tony ran a hand through his hair as Peter looked between the two men with a confused expression on his little face.  
“No need, Sir. No one has entered the room except you and Captain Rogers. The substance seems to be a secretion from the child.” Tony gaped at the ceiling.  
“Peter is… secreting spider webs?” Steve asked in an almost indignant voice. “That’s not possible.” Steve gave Peter an unreadable look.  
“I want to run some tests on him and the… substance. I think Fury lied to us about his motivations for keeping this kid safe. Jarvis, would you be a dear and hack into SHIELD for anything you can find on Peter Parker?”  
“Anything for you, sir.”  
Tony carefully stood, keeping the baby cradled in his arms as he headed for the door. Steve stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Tony could empathize with the concerned look on his face as he looked at the child, but chose not to. He was genius, damn it; he didn’t need silly feelings.  
“I don’t feel comfortable running tests on him. He’s not even our kid; shouldn’t we ask his parents if it’s ok?” Tony just shot him a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look before turning back to the door and heading in the direction of his lab. “Tony…”  
Steve reluctantly followed behind the genius. They both got in the elevator and awkwardly stood while they waited to arrive at the basement level where Tony’s lab resided.  
“To-ee!” They both jumped when Peter made the strange noise. He giggled and happily repeated the sound, “To-ee, To-ee, To-ee!” Tony realized a second to late that Peter was saying his name.  
Steve stared at Peter before looking back at his friend, who had a triumphant smirk. He was secretly elated and proud to be the subject of the kid’s first recognizable speech. He bounced the kid up and down in a way that had him positively falling over himself in giggles, still smirking like he’s just won something.  
“Wow, you’d think that he’s have picked up my name first since I’m the one who actually takes care of him.” Steve gave Tony a playful shove.  
The baby turned his attention to Steve as they got off the elevator. “Seeb! Seeb!” Tony let out a laugh and passed the wiggling baby over to the blushing Captain.  
“Hey, he knows my name too.” Steve was positively beaming. Tony felt a little flutter under his arc reactor as he watched Steve stare down at the kid with an obviously adoring expression. “Can you say Peter?”  
Peter just giggled again and desperately stretched to grab something shiny off of Tony’s work bench. Tony began setting up the tests on his computers while monitoring Jarvis’ progress at hacking SHIELD, and Steve concentrated on getting all the dangerous looking things out of Peter’s reach.  
Steve grabbed a small rectangle of metal with a screen and a round indent one side off the desk and carefully watched Peter from the corner of his eye while he examined it. “Tony, what’s this?”  
Tony looked over at the thing he was holding and a sort of disgusted expression fleetingly graced his face. It was quickly replaced with nonchalance. He waved a hand distractedly and focused back on his screens. “Nothing. A blood tester I made a while back. Don’t need it anymore; I didn’t realize I still had it.”  
Steve’s concerned expression told Tony he wasn’t going to drop the issue. Before Steve could ask the obvious question, Tony continued on. “The original Arc Reactor ran on a palladium core. It was poisoning my blood, killing me slowly. I kinda had to create- well rediscover- a new element to replace it.”  
Steve face was a picture of shock. “You never told me the arc reactor was killing you.”  
“I hadn’t met you yet when it happened.” Tony finished setting up the tests and took a strand of hair from Peter’s head while instructing Jarvis to do a full body scan.  
“Well, that’s a relief.” Steve muttered sarcastically.  
Tony’s witty- and not at all defensive or childish- remark was cut off by Jarvis. “The files you asked for, Sir.” The screen was littered with documents and scientific experiments before Steve could process the news. Tony seemed to absorb every file before Steve could even register the pictures that littered the page.  
“Well, it seems that Peter’s father has been dead for over a year. Fury lied to us…again.” Tony muttered darkly, speaking to himself as much as Steve. “Looks like his father was genetically altering spiders to make strong webs; Peter got bitten and has spidey powers. Cool; that must be why they’re after him.”  
Steve glanced from the screens that had been occupying his attention to look at Peter only to find a whole lot of nothing where Peter had been three seconds previous. “Oh shit.” He breathed, his head whipping around wildly as he searched the lab- the huge, dangerous, explosive filled lab. “Oh my…”  
Tony glanced at Steve and then to where Peter should have been. “Jarvis?”  
“Peter is currently playing with Dum-E, Sir. Also, you’re getting a video call from Agent Barton, would you like me to patch him through?”  
Tony grunted in response and was met with chaos. “Tony! Where the fuck are you? I am so done with this shit; if you don’t come home soon, I’m going to try to assassinate Thor just to alleviate the boredom.”  
“Spangles and I are in the middle of an assignment. We’ll be back in a few months.”  
“Really? Because it looks like you’re chilling in your work shop, and I know for a fact that you are in the New York estate. What are you guys really up to?” He waggled his eye brows suggestively. Tony gave that more thought than it needed and prepared to respond with an inappropriate comment about Natasha but was cut off by the kid.  
Peter took that moment to start sobbing- Steve had picked him up and pulled him away from Dum-E with a growl of suspicion at the out dated AI. Peter obviously liked the robot.  
“Tony, why is there a baby crying?”  
“No reason.”  
“Is Steve cooing to it?”  
“I don’t know, maybe.”  
“I’ve got to see this.” Barton promptly hung up, and Tony let his head hit the table with a resounding thunk.  
At least Peter had stopped crying. 

Chapter Five: Romance, Babies, and the Avengers  
“Clint! I am really sorry, but I simply do not have time for this right now.” Steve turned his attention back to the task at hand. His arms were beginning to ache from the strain of keeping them out stretched toward little Peter, who was stubbornly refusing to get off the wall, infuriatingly just out of reach.  
Tony was looking for a ladder, but Steve knew that the kid would just crawl away. Spider powers, really? Of all things. The whole thing was giving him a head ache and freaking him out.  
Steve was afraid of spiders.  
He would never admit to it, of course. He could see the headlines: Captain America’s weakness: tiny, eight legged bugs. That would be just peachy. Regardless, he really liked Peter- he couldn’t help but have a soft spot for those little, brown eyes. He was hoping that despite the lies and underhand tactics, Fury would allow them to continue the mission.  
Steve turned his attention back to Peter, who had crawled up onto the ceiling and was giggling as he made his way over Steve’s head. “Oh my…” Steve felt particularly panicked as the baby started to make his way toward the other avengers, who had collected at the door of the nursery. “C’mon Peter. You really have to come down from there now.” He still had his arms out, ready to catch the kid if he fell.  
The hilarity of the situation was not lost on Barton. He was on the floor, trying to ease the ache in his sides as he laughed and sputtered. “Captain America… has… a… baby…” He managed between bouts of obnoxious laughter.  
Thor was not chuckling. “Brother Steve, I do not understand. Why have you let this beast into Brother Stark’s home? I had thought you two were here celebrating your relationship, for which I would joyously congratulate you. Love is such a wondrous thing to find.”  
Steve sputtered for a few minutes before he managed to come up with a coherent thought pattern. “It’s not a beast, Thor. It’s a child who was genetically altered. Our mission is to make sure he doesn’t get killed or kidnapped. That’s why we’re here, not… a relationship.” Steve grimaced at that, thoroughly confused.  
Why would they think that Tony and he were in… love? It had been explained to him that same sex couples were perfectly acceptable and even encouraged. Natasha had explained to him that “love”- something that was fictional in her mind- is really indiscriminate of gender and that it would be horrifying if any sort of bigotry came out of the avengers. Steve agreed; it made sense to him that people should be able to love who they want, but he had thought that it was pretty clear that he didn’t love Tony. They were just friends.  
Peter took that moment to fall off the ceiling. Steve, who had finally dropped his arms in his confusion, had a small panic attack and lunged toward where the baby had crawled. Thankfully, Peter had chosen to fall on Thor, who was holding under his arms and staring at his giggling face with a look of confusion and intrigue.  
Unfortunately, Tony had arrived. “What the fuck was that? Steve, you seriously just let Thor catch the kid? Where were you?” Tony let out an incredibly frustrated noise and took the Peter from Thor, holding him carefully in one arm while he picked his ladder back up with the other. “I have to do everything, don’t I?” He leaned the ladder against the wall and turned back to Steve with a frightening look.  
“Sorry…” Steve let his head hang in shame.  
Tony just nodded, readjusting Peter in his arms. “I have to run some more tests. Bruce, I’m going to need your help. Fury is waiting for you at head quarters, Spangles.” Tony turned on heel and walked toward the stairs to his lab.  
Peter’s head popped up over Tony’s shoulder and he let out a stunning, drooly smile toward the captain. “Seeb! Seeb!” Steve smiled, adoration clear in his eyes even as his team mates stared, and waved to the little guy.  
When Tony and Bruce had disappeared down the stairs, Natasha rounded on him. “He knows your name?”  
“Yeah, sort of. They only words he’s really said are our names.” Steve shrugged, inwardly dreading that the team would be angry for not telling them about this sooner.  
Thor smiled suddenly and clapped Steve on the back. “Congratulation, Brother Steve! Your child is most beautiful.”  
“No- Thor, he’s not my child. I’m just making sure no one kills him.” Steve rubbed his hands down his face, wishing he’d gotten more sleep.  
“He may as well be. You’re attached. It looks like even Tony is attached. The kid must be fairly adorable if he’s gotten Tony to like him,” Barton, who had finally stopped laughing, said from the floor. “C’mon, don’t look so scared. You guys will be great fathers.”  
Thor looked between the two of them. “If you are Peter’s fathers, you are in courtship then?”  
Steve shook his head in frustration and made his way to his room. His meeting with Fury went by in a blur. He was given many files and a lecture about hacking the SHIELD network as well as an omission that they should have been informed. The rest of the Avengers were being permitted to live in the estate- not that they needed his permission- but Steve and Tony were still forbidden to deploy with them if the avengers were needed.  
The whole thing was frightfully boring to Steve. He couldn’t even make himself angry about the lies.  
By the time Steve arrived home, he realized that he was having a major problem. Since Thor had mentioned a relationship with Tony, it hadn’t left his mind. They did spend nearly all their time together before this assignment; they’d both been too busy to really hang out since it started though. Steve could see why Thor would think they were a couple, aside from the fact that they were both obviously not interested in men.  
But, of course, Steve’s mind had to explore that in its entirety without his permission. He shook his head violently, chastising himself for harboring those thoughts about his best friend only to realize with a start that this wouldn’t be the first time his mind had done so. Bucky…  
That train of thought was mercifully cut short when Thor went screaming past him in the huge parlor, laughing joyously as ever. Upon closer inspection, Steve saw that Thor was holding Peter up in the air and running around while the boy giggled and screeched at the sharp turns. “You’re playing with Peter?” Steve asked, not expecting an answer but too dumbfounded to care.  
It caught Thor’s attention though. “Yes! The little beast is most entertaining.” With a sad smile, Thor stopped and let the child drop into the cradle of his abnormally large arms. “Loki used to enjoy pretending he could fly this way, that is until he learned there were other ways.”  
Peter caught sight of Steve and let out a delighted squeal. “Seeeeb!”  
Chapter Six: Horrible, Horrible Feelings  
Tony was very confused, which was a very frightening state of being for him. He didn’t like not understanding what was going on. As he sat in his lab, trying to drink himself under the table, he decided that he was not at all attached to the small child that had put under his care and he was definitely not having… feelings for the captain.  
He never would have paid any attention to that unsettling, nagging warmth in his stomach if Clint hadn’t been such a jerk as to suggest that they were in the sort of relationship that results in such things. He’d never had that warmth with Pepper; they really were more brother sister material. With Steve, he felt different- stupid feelings surfaced whenever he saw Steve holding Peter or cooking or drawing… But he really wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been pointed out to him.  
So why couldn’t he get it out of his head now?  
He took another drink, thoroughly infuriated with his over active imagination and the absolutely flawless state of Steve’s ass. He resolved to ignore it. Feelings were inconvenient and fleeting at best; they would dissipate soon.  
He pulled up the security footage of the nursery and watched Peter as he slept. He totally wasn’t attached to the kid either. Why would he enjoy the company of a drooling brat anyway? He was Tony Stark; Tony Stark liked two things only- alcohol and women. Less so since he joined the avengers, but still.  
He couldn’t help but realize how frighteningly out of character this whole situation was- aside from the drinking himself to sleep bit. He sighed and turned his attention back to his security network, trying to think of ways that he would break through it if he wasn’t on the inside and didn’t have Jarvis.  
He decided that the only way would be a full frontal attack with lots of bombs. “Jarvis, take a note. We need to be prepared for a full frontal assault.”  
“Duly noted, Sir. May I recommend that you delay any further improvements to the security system until you are not quite so inebriated?”  
Tony glared at the ceiling. “When did I program you to be so cheeky?”  
“I’m sure you did it while you were drunk at some point.” Tony whirled around to look at Steve, who had effectively scared the crap out of him and made him angrier at Jarvis.  
“Huh. It made a joke.”  
Steve smiled and leaned up against the door frame in a way that totally did not make Tony want to rip his clothes off. What has gotten into me?  
“I was wondering if you saw where I put my sketch pad; it seems I misplaced it.” Steve sneakily scanned the work tables, half expecting it to be there even though he only ever sketched in Tony’s lab in the tower.  
“Nope. I haven’t seen it. Why didn’t you ask Jarvis?” Tony asked, not thinking about what he was saying so much as chastising his utter lack of control.  
Steve frowned and pushed away from the door frame. “I didn’t think of that. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” He turned to leave as quickly as he’d appeared.  
Tony felt a moment of panic when he realized he’d been rude. “No, wait. Sorry, that was rude. You can stick around and draw down here if you want. Jarvis will find your book.”  
“Captain Roger’s sketch book is currently under the rocking chair in the nursery. There are several pads in the left drawer of Mr. Stark’s desk that could serve as a substitute.”  
Steve hesitantly walked into the lab and found one of the pads to draw on. “Thank you.” He tucked himself into an arm chair in the corner while Tony struggled to contain his rampant imagination and focus on his work. He pulled up plans for the newest Stark energy tech and immersed himself in science and engineering- forgetting all about his own emotionally retarded brain and the super soldier across the room.  
All the while, Steve was drawing Tony.  
000000ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo000000  
“Peter… shhhhhh. It’s ok; Tony and Steve will be up soon. No need to cry.” Natasha gently bounced baby Peter up and down in her arms and tried to put on a sweet smile that didn’t scare the child so much. She hated children. Unlike Tony, who mostly feared hurting something so vulnerable or turning out to be a worse guardian than his own father, Natasha just hated things that didn’t have a brain with which to care for themselves.  
She was a good enough spy that someone watching her then couldn’t tell how much she hated Steve for making her watch Peter while he took a break (naturally, he would spend his break with Tony.) Peter could tell though, and he had no qualms about making it known to the entire world that he didn’t like her back. He wailed incessantly until Clint poked his head into the room and looked from the spy to the baby incredulously.  
“Are you trying to kill him or something? I’ve never heard anything so miserable in my life.” Natasha made an infuriated growling noise and stalked over to the archer, who was already regretting his words.  
“Here! You take care of it then.” She dumped Peter- who had impossibly started to cry louder- into the archer’s unwilling arms and ran off. Clint stood comically shocked in the middle of the room staring down at the crying child.  
He tried to think on his feet. “Hey buddy, if you stop crying, I’ll wake Thor up so you can do that air plane thing again.” He smiled down at Peter, who peaked his eye open suspiciously. He seemed to decide that Clint wasn’t nearly as bad as Natasha so he stopped crying and yawned into Barton’s soft sleep shirt. Barton smiled and gently bounced the kid up and down as he’d seen Steve do earlier, cooing silently.  
Before long the kid had fallen asleep, and Clint carefully placed him back in the crib. He turned to leave and stopped when he saw a smug looking Tony leaning against the doorway.  
His smirk was practically maniacal. “And the best part of this is, I caught that all on tape.”  
Chapter Seven: Rubble and Bomb Proof Nurseries  
“Peter! You need to eat it, not smear it all over the place.” Steve ran a frustrated hand though his hair and glared down at the smiling baby. He already had baby food all over his shirt and chin from Clint, who had so helpfully been flinging it at the child.  
Steve had to wonder which of them was more mature.  
Peter’s smile widened and he giggled. “To-ee!” He lifted his pear covered hands, making his favorite grabby gesture to indicate that he wanted something. In this case, Tony. Steve sighed, wondering if Tony would forgive him if he came down the stairs covered in ground up pears. He had gotten a little fed up with diapers, and tried to enlist Tony’s help only to end up fighting with him.  
Tony had agreed that they would share equal responsibility, switching off days, then disappeared into his lab again. Steve felt bad; he hadn’t wanted for Tony to take care of Peter half of the time. He had wanted to spend more time around him, to spend more time watching him with Peter.  
As creepy as it was, Steve felt like he was melting every time he saw Tony’s eyes soften while he watched Peter. Steve knew that Tony would be one of those fathers that give their children literally anything they wanted just to make them happy; he would never make Peter do something that upset him. Thankfully, Tony didn’t feed him, or Peter would never eat his carrots.  
Steve was standing with a hand in his hair staring off into space and thinking about his confusing feelings when the explosion rocked the nursery. Unprepared, Steve fell against the crib and lost his footing. By the time he was able to get his feet under him, Pepper was in the doorway.  
“Oh my god. Tony-“ She looked around wildly and tried to catch her breath. “Tony told me to lock down the nursery.” She looked up at the ceiling as if expecting Jarvis to hear her. “Jarvis, what’s the code?”  
“No need, Miss. Potts. I’m in the process of securing the room now.” Steve nodded at Pepper and leapt through the doorway.  
“I’m going to get the others and make sure there are no threats. You’ll be safe in here with Peter. You make sure he’s okay, understood?” Steve’s captain voice was as reassuring to Pepper as it was unsettling to Peter. He didn’t want to leave Peter, but he feared what would happen if he wasn’t there to direct the team.  
Steve sprinted down the hall, grabbing his shield from his room before rushing to the entrance hall where he figured the explosion had originated. He found several masked men cautiously entering the entrance hall, only to be met by Thor who stood in the rubble.  
“You dare enter the Avenger’s abode?!” The god of Thunder scoffed at the men’s bullets, using Mjolnir to deflect them while also viciously pounding those who strayed too close. The Black Widow joined the fray just as Steve leapt down from the balcony into the masked men’s midst.  
Clint arrived seconds after, taking out his fair share in the short amount of time that the fight went on. It was regretfully cut short when the floor caved in, taking a few of the troops- there must have been around forty- down with it along with the God of Thunder.  
Steve breathed a sigh of relief when he could still here the god’s thunderous war cries and taunts as the dust settled. The rest of the organization’s people were easy pickings. Looking through the gaping hole that used to be the front door, Steve could see the hulk destroyed their reinforcements, which included a tank interestingly enough.  
“Is everyone all right?” He asked as the dust cleared, leaving only the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes standing. He did a head count and felt his heart seize painfully. “Where’s Tony?”  
“The Man of Iron was absent throughout this most glorious battle.” Steve felt panic rise in his chest but managed to contain it, keeping his face authoritative and calm.  
“Start a search; I want any straggling threats eliminated. I have to find Tony.” Steve turned from his team, posed to run up the debris covered stairs when Jarvis spoke from hidden and miraculously unharmed speakers.  
“Captain Rogers, there has been a secondary breach. I’m afraid there are four intruders trying to break through the nursery door. Unsuccessfully, I would like to happily add.”  
Steve found himself nodding at the ceiling as he ran up the stairs and reached the hallway. He cautiously rounded the corner and saw his targets kneeling in front of the vault door that Tony had designed to keep out intruders. A simply toss of his shield was all it took to knock out half of the group. The other half looked at him with fear, rather than assessing him as the others had. They had a computer attached to the security panel by the door and seemed to be trying to hack their way inside.  
One of them fainted, crumbling on the ground as Steve approached menacingly. He growled at the other, who had thrown his hands up in a sign of surrender. The man whimpered and kept his eyes on the ground, fear pouring from every pore.  
“Did they tell you what’s behind that door?” Steve voice was rough with protective rage. He got his shield, not taking an eye off his two prisoners. He wasn’t going to hurt someone who surrendered, no matter how much hatred was bubbling in his chest at the notion of the men getting to Peter.  
“N-n-no, Sir. We just had to get through the security.” The man was literally quaking with fear as Steve loomed over him. His anger was not quelled by the man’s ignorance; he should have asked, should have stopped to think about the people that could get hurt.  
Steve restrained both of the men, and handed them off the SHIELD agents that had decided to make an appearance. He decided to leave Peter and Pepper in the nursery until he was sure he could take them somewhere safe and told Jarvis to deliver the message.  
He made his way back to the lobby where the other avengers had started to congregate. He looked around again and felt his earlier panic return. “You didn’t find Tony?” He asked the group, trying to keep calm control.  
They all shook their heads. Steve turned to Jarvis. “Jarvis, where is Tony?”  
“I’m afraid Master Stark was in the basement when the roof collapsed.”  
Every single one of the Avengers felt their blood run cold as they stared down at the rubble that was once the floor.  
“Oh, god… Tony.”  
Chapter Eight: Cold as Death  
“Tony, just calm down, okay?”  
“No, I will not calm down! Do you even realize how awkward it is to have to ride on the shoulders of Captain America while you’re trying to peel a baby of your ceiling? I am redesigning that room. I want to be able to touch the ceiling; I want it so short that Thor will hit his head every time he enters.” Tony viciously scrubbed at the web residue on his arms using the huge lab sink. Pepper stood impatiently behind him, trying not to laugh about the whole situation.  
“Yeah, about that. Why didn’t you tell me you adopted a baby?”  
“I didn’t adopt him. I’m taking care of him for Fury. Steve and I were put on daddy-duty, because some organization wants to dissect the kid and steel his spidey powers.” Tony was irritated, because Steve had spent an hour yelling at him for not taking enough time to watch the kid. Steve decided there should be a balance, in which Tony has to actually feed and bathe the child as well as keep him secure.  
“I don’t think he knows that. I think Peter is a lot smarter than he seems, and he thinks you’re one of his dads.” Tony dried his arms off and stared at Pepper, processing the information.  
She was right, as always. Peter cried nearly every time he went more than twenty minutes away from Steve and himself. Not even Barton could keep him satisfied half of the time. Tony almost thought that the kid was afraid of being abandoned since he’d lost all the stability he had. Baby’s need stability too, right?  
Truth be told, if Fury told him right that second that the baby was going to be placed in foster care, Tony would probably do everything in his power to destroy SHIELD just to punish him for his cruel indifference and sheer audacity. Peter had been through too much already to get anything less than a perfect and loving family.  
Tony wasn’t sure he could provide that though. He’d never even changed a diaper; sure, the kid liked him, but he wasn’t sure he could be a real father to anyone. What about when Peter got older and started crying over something emotional or something; Tony would be out of his depth.  
Pepper scoffed at his uncertainty. “You are seriously emotionally inept, you know that?” Tony glared at her.  
His brain had the perfect witty retort ready to be sent to his mouth just as a huge explosion rocked the foundation of the estate. Pepper let out a little scream and clung to Tony as the building was shaken by the force of the blast.  
Tony realized a second too late that they were in the basement.  
“Go, Pepper. Go! Lock down the nursery, it’s built to withstand this.” He shoved Pepper toward the door and watched as she fled safely up the stairs. “Jarvis, suit me up.”  
“Sir, the roof is about to cave in.”  
“Shit.”  
0000000ooooooooooooooooooooooo0000000  
Tony was stuck under a table. A table. “How humiliating… possibly the smartest person in the country and all you can think of is a god damn table…” Tony resentfully kicked a piece of rubble only to have more of it roll under the table with him. It was getting much too cramped for his liking.  
He tries to stay calm, focusing not on the dark, rocky, enclosed space, but on the fact that Steve was going to find him. Jarvis would tell them where he was and then they’d dig until they are able to pull him out. He had no doubt that Peter was safe; his nursery was impenetrable. Not even the Hulk could have gotten into that room, though he would no doubt rock it around a bit.  
Peter was safe, and Pepper was with him. Steve was going to save him, and he’d be out of that dark hole in no time.  
Right?  
0000000ooooooooooooooooooooooo0000000  
Bruce had hulked out again just to speed along the search. The large pieces of rubble were being lifted out easily with Thor, Steve, and Hulk there while Natasha and Clint watched to make sure nothing shifted dangerously. SHIELD technology helped them find a heat source under the rubble so they weren’t searching blind.  
Steve couldn’t feel blinder though. He couldn’t keep the cold tendrils of fear out of his mind as he dug in the rubble as carefully as he could. He felt frantic; he felt more terrified than he had ever been before. He hadn’t even been this scared when he was steering that plane into the ocean.  
It was that fear that convinced him that he was, in fact, in love with Tony Stark.  
He wanted that realization to console him, to make him less terrified that he would overturn a rock and find Tony’s corpse. In reality, it only made it worse. He could see it in Pepper’s eyes as well as she stared down at them from the level above. She loved Tony too, but in a different way.  
Peter was crying in her arms, but Steve couldn’t bring himself to comfort the child until he was sure Tony was safe. Peter’s brown eyes were just too much like Tony’s for Steve to keep his calm.  
Steve absent-mindedly continued digging. He’d never changed out of his pear soaked shirt and found it sticking to his skin uncomfortably when combined with the filth and dust. He shivered against a sudden chill and struggled against the inviting escape to self pity. He marveled at how such a trivial thing could make the situation that much worse.  
When he found the table, he thought that he was coming close to losing all hope. As he lifted another large piece of marble that had, at one time, been part of the floor, he prayed that he wouldn’t have to lose the man he loved as soon as he realized he loved him.  
Steve had lost too many already. He stood on the table top, using it as solid ground as he shifted the rubble around it. As the dust and pieces of house shifted around the marble chunk he was struggling to maneuver, fragments of blue light shone off the particles in the air. Steve’s heart stopped.  
“Tony?” He flung the marble away carelessly and knelt down on the table, peering through the small hole he’d made in the rubble. The relief at seeing the glow of the arc reactor could have given Steve a heart attack had he not had super serum to prevent it. “Oh, god… Tony.” Steve turned toward where Thor was working. “Guys, I found him!”  
The others rushed over and they made quick work of the rocks around the table, freeing one side just enough for Steve to duck in and pull out the unconscious genius.  
“Tony? Tony, wake up.” Steve jostled him, gently. Tony didn’t move. “Tony.” Steve gently pushed some hair off Tony’s forehead as they put him on the stretcher. “Please wake up.” Tony didn’t move.  
He followed the stretcher numbly, fearing the worse but unable to accept it. The chill that had bothered him earlier was suddenly cold as death. Pepper rushed up to them as soon as they were on solid ground. “Is he okay?” She looked over her boss and best friend frantically, fearing the same as Steve.  
Baby Peter looked confused and scared as he took in the sight of the stretcher. “To-ee?” He reached out toward the genius and let out a wail when the medics began wheeling him away.  
Thankfully, Tony heard him. He sat straight up and rolled off the stretcher, scrambling to his feet before he was fully aware of what was going on. “I’m up. I’m up. What… Um. Why?” He blinked a few times, looking from the medics to Peter to Steve quickly before he seemed to really come too.  
“Who died?”  
Chapter Nine: Declarations and Territories  
Not for the first time, Tony decided that he loved Steve’s super strength. There was just something so very safe and secure about being locked in a hug that was literally impossible to escape. He didn’t have to be embarrassed about it, because who doesn’t want to be locked in the warm embrace of Captain America? He vaguely registered the sweet scent of pears and aftershave before it hit him.  
Steve was hugging him.  
Why was Steve hugging him? What’s going on? What happened? Is Peter okay? Did someone actually die? If someone did actually die after he’d asked that very same question, he was going to feel like such a dick.  
He struggled to remember what had happened. He’d been talking to Pepper in the lab, and then what? What wasn’t he recalling? And, once again, why was Steve hugging him? Steve doesn’t just hug people; he only hugs special people, and Tony wasn’t that special, was he? Did he have amnesia?  
Frantic thoughts made way for frantic struggles against Steve’s embrace. Tony tried to free himself so he could ask his questions but Steve stubbornly held on, impossibly tightening his hold. Tony thought that it should probably hurt, but he couldn’t bring himself to care; Steve’s shoulder was unbelievably comfortable against his cheek.  
“Um, I hate to interrupt, but what’s the plan?” Clint was standing in what used to be the threshold with his arms crossed. He was getting fidgety thinking about the organization sending in a second wave.  
Steve reluctantly let Tony go. Tony took a minute to straighten his shirt and clear his throat before his questions burst out of him, panic adding flavor to every word that tumbled out his mouth.  
“What happened? Why were you hugging me? Did someone actually die? I don’t remember; what’s going on? What happened to the house?” As soon as the question left his mouth he remembered what happened. “Oh wait, explosion. I remem- WAIT! Where’s Peter?” Tony’s head whipped around comically, his mind running at a million miles a minute as he tried to catch up. He saw the baby crying softly in Pepper’s arms and all but jumped the few feet between them to look the kid over. “The nursery was secured? Did they touch him? I swear to god, if they so much as scratched him-“  
Steve’s hand was feather light and comforting against Tony’s shoulder. “He’s fine. The nursery was completely safe the entire time. You were the only one in any real danger.”  
Tony released a breath he hadn’t realized he’s been holding, trying to get himself under control. He was always out of sorts when he first woke up. He hadn’t even realized how protective he was of the kid until the thought of the organization actually hurting him came to mind. He would rip every single one of them into a million pieces and use their body parts to make biofuel before they hurt Peter again.  
“Wait, how was I in danger?” Tony didn’t remember a fight. He’d been in the basement when it caved in then stuck under a table. He was a little claustrophobic after Afghanistan so it was perfectly naturally that he would pass out in those conditions.  
He looked up to see unshed tears and a look of disbelief in Steve’s eyes. “That was a really stupid question. I get that now… that I’ve already said it. I’m okay though. We should… um…” Tony was very distracted by the look in Steve’s eyes. His eyes seemed to have changed; at the very least, the emotions behind them had, making them seem darker. Steve was looking at Tony with an unfamiliar protectiveness and relief. His posture was stiff and he kept scanning the area as if expecting someone to pounce on the genius at any moment.  
Looking around him, Tony noticed that none of the SHIELD agents or other avengers had dared come within a ten foot radius of them. He couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t remembering something.  
Focusing as hard as he could, he thought back and recalled a dream like memory of Steve pawing through rocks and chucking rubble away from a tiny hole in the debris. He had a foggy, dark memory of Steve’s voice filled with fear and desperation. He had been begging for something, but Tony hadn’t understood the words; he’d only understood that it had been Steve’s voice and that he would be safe if Steve was there.  
In a sudden burst of brilliance, Tony realized what had happened. “You didn’t think I was going to wake up, did you?”  
Steve looked almost embarrassed as his eyes dropped to the floor and a blush crept up his cheeks. He quickly changed the subject. “We should get to a secure location. Can we up the security in the Tower?”  
He needed to know why Steve was acting so strangely; he absently realized that he didn’t mind the behavior if it meant he got to hug Steve more often. Tony decided to pursue Steve’s reaction to the incident at a later hour. He was still fuming from the organization coming in and trying to take something that was his, trying to hurt something that was his.  
“Not permanently, but it’ll be fine for the time it’ll take me to rip these fuckers apart.”  
0000000oooooooooooooooooooooooooo000000  
The trip to the Avenger’s tower was uneventful. Steve was absently watching Tony the whole time, feeling unbelievably protective after everything. He could tell that the other avengers and the SHIELD operatives could sense it, because they didn’t stray too close to the genius for fear of inciting the super soldiers’ wrath.  
He may have been a sweet and sensitive person, but he still had the ability to break a full grown man in half without breaking a sweat.  
Steve couldn’t help but admire the passionate anger that Tony was radiating all the way there. Tony was a territorial person; he didn’t share well. Peter had been folded into the list of people Tony considered his; it only made sense that he would break anyone who tried to hurt someone who was his. Steve didn’t want to admit how much he wanted Tony feel that protective of him.  
“Jarvis, I don’t any one, and I mean no one, with the exception of the Avengers and Pepper Potts in the top six floors of this building. No one. No SHEILD agents either.” Tony gave their escorts a smug glare before the elevator doors slid shut.  
“I assume those parameters exclude Peter as well, Sir?”  
“I’m not even going to grace that question with an answer, Jarvis.” Tony tapped his foot and glared at the doors as they sped up to the penthouse where the avengers lived.  
“Um… I really hate to offer, because obviously it’ll suck… but do you think Peter could stay in my room?” Clint nervously ran a hand through his hair as everyone turned to stare at him. He struck a defensive pose. “What? I’m just thinking it would be safer since I don’t have any windows or anything.”  
Tony actually laughed at that, which was a huge relief to Steve. Natasha elbowed Clint in the ribs with an expression that, for Natasha, was the equivalent of a full smile. “Just admit it, Barton. You just want to have someone around who likes hanging from the rafters as much as you do.”  
Steve grimaced at the thought of Peter dangling from the arching ceiling of Barton’s room. Tony had careful designed each room to the tastes of each Avenger; Steve wouldn’t know what to do with all that space, but Barton liked being able to climb to high places. “I’m not comfortable with the idea of Peter hiding up in the rafters with you.”  
“At the very least, he can stay in there for an hour or so. Then he can stay in my room or Steve’s. It’s our mission anyway. In the meantime, we need to talk.” Tony leveled Steve with a look of concern masked by a smirk.  
Clint made an immature, “ooohhhh” before he was chucked unceremoniously out of the elevator by Natasha.  
Steve’s mind was a blur of panic and frustration. How much was he going to tell Tony? He couldn’t lie; he couldn’t look at Tony and say he didn’t feel his heart shred itself at the thought of losing Tony. It was worse than that though; he would have lost Tony before he could have him, before he could tell Tony that he’d finally come to terms with his feelings, before he told him that he loved him, before he could make the genius his.  
His resolve was easy to find and hard to keep. He needed to tell Tony, but he was so scared of what Tony would say. Steve had always been the kind of person that is true to himself and his feelings; he just couldn’t hide from things. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he tried to weasel out of it.  
They left Peter with Clint and made their way to Tony’s lab, their favorite room. Once the sliding door hissed closed behind them Tony turned on heel to pin the soldier with a look.  
“Alright! Spill, Spangles. First and foremost, I’d like to know what’s bothering you. I can tell something’s off and I ju-“  
“I love you.”  
Chapter Ten: Actions over Words  
Tony would have bet his entire fortune and his iron man suit that there was a picture of Steve Rogers under the word “brave” in the dictionary. Not only was he the most honest and pure hearted man on the planet, he was also an embodiment of all things that Tony wasn’t. Steve always stood up and looked what he feared in the face, be it an enemy or a personal demon.  
Tony was a different kind of brave. He faced down his enemies and looked fear in the face with a smirk and a witty quip, because he was just too damn arrogant to let them win. Naturally, being the hero he was, he had his moments of selflessness and did genuinely care for human life, but he wasn’t brave like Steve Rogers. His internal demons were not faced head on; they were often ignored or drowned in inebriating substances.  
Tony was staring at Steve slack jawed in the middle of his workshop, waiting for the super soldier’s nervousness to transform into rolling laughter while he mocked the genius for falling for his prank. He was waiting for Steve to look him in the eye and tell him that he was lying; it was all a joke. Steve Rogers could never love someone like Tony Stark.  
Steve took a hesitant step closer to Tony, hesitantly meeting his eyes. “Tony? Are… are you going to say anything?” Tony couldn’t help but surrender a brief moment to hate the fear he saw growing in the soldier’s open face. Fear he caused. He tried to form a coherent sentence that would convey the panic and confusion rolling in his stomach. Panic caused by the statistical likelihood of Tony destroying Steve and confusion caused by the fact that his first reaction was to respond in kind.  
Steve continued talking before Tony could completely squash the need to babble incoherently until Steve either punched him or ran away. “It’s okay. I didn’t exactly expect you to jump for joy or anything. I’m surprised you haven’t hit me. I just… I needed to you to know; I won’t let it interfere with anything. I just-“ Steve was cut off by a very undignified groan escaping Tony’s throat suddenly.  
Tony covered his face with his hands and took a few sloppy and uncoordinated steps in a circle before turning back to the soldier with a miserable and annoyed expression. “Stop. Stop. Jesus Christ, it’s like watching a puppy get kicked in the face.” Tony made a frustrated growling noise and scrubbed his face again, putting his thoughts in order. Steve looked confused and hurt in the manliest way possible while still having the biggest, bluest eyes in New York. “You know, I think I had a thing that I was supposed to-”  
“Tony, I didn’t mean to make you angry. I’m-“  
“No, no, no. You’re not allowed to say sorry for that, and if you try, I will hit you. There is absolutely nothing for you to be sorry for.” Tony wanted nothing more than to run away; he couldn’t even look at Steve without feeling a deep stab in his heart. He rubbed his arc reactor absently, surprised by how much his chest did actually hurt.  
Steve looked confused for a moment longer before a different emotion dawned over his face. Tony was soon faced by a triumphant smile that made his hackles rise with suspicion. It was truly disconcerting how well Steve could read Tony.  
He surveyed Steve warily as he took a step forward, looking down at the genius with a glint in his eye that Tony knew all too well. The Cap had a plan, and the captain’s plans never failed.  
“So, you don’t want me to be sorry that I just potentially destroyed our friendship in a misguided attempt to make myself feel better after nearly losing you?” Steve raised an eyebrow and took another step forward, less than a foot away from the frozen genius.  
“How does potentially ruining a friendship make one feel better about nearly losing someone?” Tony relied on snark to avoid the question, more preoccupied by the proximity of the soldier; the sight of Steve’s shirt clinging to his perfect chest was more than enough to throw the genius off his game.  
“It doesn’t.”  
“So why would you be sorry?”  
“I’m not.”  
“So you do want to ruin our friendship?”  
“Yup.” Steve closed the gap with a small step just as Tony reached up and tangled his fingers in Steve’s perfect hair, pulling the soldier down for a kiss. Tony couldn’t bring himself to care about much other than Steve’s heat and Steve’s lips as the soldier gently wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist.  
The world was a genuinely unfair and cruel place for creating Steve Rogers. It just wasn’t fair for someone so naïve and innocent to be such a good kisser. Small nips, tentative licks, and stifled moans drove Tony crazy as he put more and more passion into the kiss. Even worse was how infuriatingly gentle Steve was; Tony wanted to see Steve unhindered by self control, preferably naked and sweaty.  
Steve wasn’t that kind of gal though. He stopped the kiss before Tony was able to do much more than muss his hair a bit and tug at his shirt. As he pulled away, Tony let out a discontented whine, missing the contact before it was completely gone. Steve pressed his forehead to Tony’s, ever so slightly out of breath and smiling like an idiot while Tony took deep, ragged breaths, staring that the Captain’s lips lustfully. “That was so unfair.”  
Steve chuckled and tightened his grip around the genius. He didn’t speak, afraid that the panic he’d seen in Tony’s caramel-coffee eyes would return. Tony might not want to accept it, but Steve knew him. Steve knew that Tony would be too afraid of his emotions to deal with a declaration like that. Steve should’ve gone about it differently, but he could make up for it. Tony understood contact and action; words weren’t important.  
Steve brushed his lips against Tony’s one last time before taking a step back, much to Tony’s displeasure. He smiled at the genius before turning to the door. “I’m going to go check on Peter.” All Tony could do is sit back and enjoy the view as Steve jogged up the stairs.  
Tony sighed and sat with a huff in his favorite lab chair. “Jarvis? Please tell me that you have a location for those bastards. I really need to blow something up.”  
“Naturally, sir.”  
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Steve had transferred Peter to his own bedroom and left him under Bruce’s attentive eye while he took a trip to the store. He still couldn’t get over how convenient it was to have markets with everything you could need all in conveniently labeled aisles. He missed the simplicity of small, specialty shops regardless. He bought a ridiculous amount of baby stuff, included a crib, before heading home.  
He had loaded his merchandise into the car, driven by Happy. He wanted to walk home; still enjoying the light fluttering feeling that had lingered after his encounter with Tony. He was a little afraid of how things would play out, but he wanted to let himself be happy while he could.  
Tony didn’t like emotions; Steve realized this, but he also realized that Tony had them regardless. Tony had feelings for Steve; that much was clear. All that was left was to carefully plan a way to make Tony comfortable enough with the relationship to accept those feelings; Steve was good at nothing if not planning.  
He happily turned his attention to the sky, smiling that the sunset and letting his mind wander. He almost missed the white trail of repulsors making their way across the sky’s purple hues. He wished he had after he saw the gold and red glint of a damaged Iron Man suit making its way shakily back to the Tower. Steve watched, fear building in his chest, as he watched Tony’s flight stabilizers sputter, catching him only just long enough to keep him in the air. He was quickly losing altitude. Steve had left Tony in the lab three hours ago; what could he possibly have done to get hurt in that amount of time? Steve pulled out his phone and called Tony, knowing Jarvis would patch him through to the suit.  
“Hey, Cap. What’s up? Please tell me that you’ve finally decided to rely on technology to summon me to dinner rather than doing it the old fashion way. I’m so proud!” Tony had to stifle a gasp as his flight stabilizers gave out again.  
“Tony.” There was steely note in Steve’s voice that told Tony he was in trouble. “Please land already so I don’t have to watch you fall out of the sky. Again.”  
“Shit.”  
“I’ll see you at the tower. Don’t think you can get away without explaining yourself.” Steve angrily ended the call, applying far too much force for the phone to take. The screen broke for the umpteenth time under his hands, and he had to control the urge to through it at the nearest brick wall.  
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes just long enough to miss the masked man that appeared, utterly silent, before him. The butt of the man’s rifle hit Steve’s temple hard and true just as he opened his eyes.  
Chapter Eleven: Their Mistake  
Their first mistake was the handcuffs.  
It seemed that every super villain or evil organization underestimated Captain America’s ability when he wasn’t holding his shield. They seem to think that once they clock him over the head and get his strapped to a chair, he will magically lose all his super strength. A simple pair of handcuffs couldn’t hold Steve Rogers any more than they could hold the hulk.  
Their second mistake was the guard. Talkative and dumb are not ideal traits in someone watching a hostage. This was just another classic example of underestimation from the enemy. They thought that Steve was only a soldier; a dumb brute with no brain. Steve was a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for, and could manipulate a person of lesser intelligence as well as if not better than the other members of his team.  
Their worst mistake by far was the location. Steve was on the solitary upraised platform- almost a stage- in a wide, flat warehouse. There were several very large windows with murky glass and thin, metal walls that did nothing to keep out the sounds of the city. He could hear the tell tale sounds of traffic and smell the familiar scent of his favorite bakery in Brooklyn.  
Three strikes and you’re out.  
There were five other men in the complex, all of which seemed to be focused on twiddling their thumbs, so Steve didn’t worry about attracting their attention. With his plan solidly formed and ready in his mind, Steve turned to the dim witted guard to his immediate right.  
“Who are you working for?” Steve saw the guard jump at his voice and knew these were not the organization’s best men. Something must have happened to make them rely on this guy to guard Captain America; they were making it all too easy for him.  
The guard snickered. “Wouldn’t you like to know? I don’t have to answer your questions, Captain.” He sneered Steve’s title as if it were a joke. “I’m glad you’re awake though. I was hoping I’d get to tell you the good news before the doc came to pick you up.”  
Steve glared at the guard waiting for the “good news” that would most likely tell Steve all he needed to know in order to get to the bottom of this.  
“You’re little friend went for a walk to meet you, after you got off the phone. He was very upset when he saw the blood pool you left behind, let me tell you. Thankfully, our decoy was able to pull him away before he saw your little gash. I’m sure he wouldn’t have been too happy about that.” Steve felt a cold trickle of fear at the thought of Tony being anywhere near these men. There was a feral, sadistic glint in the guard’s eyes that made Steve uncomfortable, though he knew it didn’t reach his face.  
“Decoy?”  
“Oh yes. Looks exactly like you. A perfect duplicate; even has your dimples. He’ll be living your life for you while you’re away. He may or may not even take care of your little baby problem for you.” Steve scowled at the guard, hating the image of Peter in the hands of an imposter. He made a show of jerking against the handcuffs.  
“Why?”  
“Why do we do anything, Captain? We’re just trying to make the perfect human beings. There’s no better weapon: that’s what doc says.” The guard smirked at him smugly.  
Steve smirked back. He got what he came for. “You work for Hydra then?” The Nazi’s had been obsessed with human perfection too, but their drive was nothing compared to Hydra. The doctor was probably some mad scientist that was trying to replicate the serum that had been used on Steve. It made sense that they’d want to steal Peter; his DNA had been changed after he was born, making him a perfect means of changing people into what Hydra wanted them to be, even if they weren’t born that way.  
People really underestimated Steve’s intelligence.  
The guard had paled and sputtered at Steve’s question, proving that Steve was right. He had no trouble breaking the hand cuffs and taking the gun from the guard. Being Captain America had some perks, one of which was that, sometimes, your enemies just turn tail and run, knowing in their heart that they were going to die if they tried to fight.  
Only one of the other Hydra agents was dumb enough to stay.  
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Tony decided he didn’t want to wait in the living room with the other avengers for Steve to get home and chew him out. He didn’t want Peter to see how nasty Steve and Tony could be when they fought. Tony was truly hoping that they could avoid any of that though; Tony could only take so much emotional duress in one day. He just wanted to apologize and then maybe- if he was really, super, duper lucky- have fantastic make up sex.  
He impatiently tapped his foot in the elevator and half-jogged out of the lobby onto the street. He walked quickly down the street, taking the least populated route that Steve would most likely have taken. He was spacing out a little as he walked, using a quarter of his brain power to scan faces he passed. He felt that he should have run into Steve already; he would have had to have been closer to the Tower to see Tony flying in.  
He stopped dead when he saw a pool of red on the cement and felt the blood drain from his face. He looked around wildly and pulled out his cell phone in one fluid movement. He followed the smears of red as his phone dialed Steve, his heart racing with fear all the while.  
Who would attack Steve? How were they able to attack him? That man was more aware of his surroundings than any normal human should be. Tony felt a cold chill run down his spine when he realized Steve would have been distracted and looking at the sky after he saw Tony flying in. Tony distantly heard Steve’s phone ringing in the alley that the blood trail was leading him toward.  
“Oh god. Steve?” Tony ran toward the alley, a little more fearful than he would ever admit to another human being. He distantly wished he’d brought the portable suit.  
Tony stopped dead when Steve walked out of the alleyway. “What are you doing here?” Steve looked a little out of breath, maybe a little rumpled compared to his normal clean cut appearance, but no worse for wear.  
“Steve? I thought… what were you doing in there?” Tony tried to mask the adrenaline running through his veins with an angry scowl.  
“Following the blood trail. It was a dog. Poor thing.” Steve shook his head with a frown that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Tony raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that something was off about the shine in Steve’s eyes and the rumpled clothes. He chose not to comment.  
After a moment of heavy silence, Steve smiled and waved in the general direction of the Tower. “Come to walk me home?”  
Tony remembered why he’d been walking out to meet Steve and narrowed his eyes. “Actually, I thought it would be better to keep the yelling away from Peter.”  
Steve looked confused, his perfect nose scrunching in a very un-Steve like gesture of bewilderment. “Yelling? Oh, the- yeah. Forget about it. I’m not your mother. I’m not going to scold you for doing whatever it was you were doing.”  
Tony stared at Steve incredulously. “Is this some other form of punishment? Are you trying to make me realize that I secretly enjoy the attention or something? Oh my god you are. Fuck, you’re good.” Tony glared playfully, but Steve just smiled uncertainly and began walking.  
Tony frowned a little but walked with him. The lack of their normal banter made Tony very uncomfortable. “You really don’t want to know what I was doing?”  
Steve shrugged. “I guess you could tell me if you want to.”  
“I found their base of operations. They had antiaircraft weapons; can you believe that? I was hoping to get more information out of it, but I really only ended up blowing everything up. At the very least it will slow them down a little.”  
He glanced over at Steve, who was very tense and stubbornly glaring at the ground. “You didn’t get any information? None of their plans or why they wanted Peter?”  
“I got a full map of their locations in the United States and some encrypted files. Jarvis was probably done with them when I left; these guys are hardly technological gurus.”  
Steve nodded solemnly. “I’d like to go over those with you.” He gave Tony a somewhat challenging look. Tony raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t question. Steve was acting oddly.  
As they approached the elevator, Tony abruptly spun around, facing the Captain as he continued to walk backwards a little closer to Steve than he seemed to be expecting. “I was thinking maybe we could postpone work a little and focus on that whole friendship problem we were discussing.” He gave Steve his best cocky grin, expecting the captain to laugh at him or maybe shove him against a wall. Either would be nice.  
Steve just raised an eyebrow as they stepped into the elevator. “I thought we were friends?” Tony frowned with his eyes, confused and a little hurt. His lips stayed in a smirk as he observed the Captain.  
“We discussed this already. You’re sending mixed signals; I hate mixed signals.” Tony took a step toward the Captain, who seemed very confused. Tony stopped when Steve was pressed against the wall and their chests were touching. Tony’s lips were a hair’s breath away from Steve’s and yearning for Steve to close the gap.  
Staring up into Steve’s blue eyes, Tony struggled to figure out what was flashing through his mind. It looked like panic. It looked like Steve was scared and confused. Last time they’d been in this position the only thing that had been in those eyes was excitement and, well, love with a sprinkling of apprehension on the side. Tony was unsettled by how cold Steve was; his normal intoxicating heat and scent were missing.  
Tony abruptly stepped away, anger rising in his chest. “Seriously, what’s wrong with you? I can’t keep up.” He crossed his arms and glared when the elevator abruptly stopped. He looked at the ceiling. “Jarvis, why did the elevator stop?” Tony snapped.  
“Sir, you forbade anyone but the Avengers and select others to enter the top floors of Stark Tower.” Tony glared at the ceiling, confused for the billionth time that hour.  
“Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are both members of the Avengers, Jarvis.” Tony buried his head in his hands and sighed in frustration. Why couldn’t he just lock himself up in the workshop all the time? Leaving always ended in tears.  
“Sir, the man currently accompanying you is not Steve Rogers.”  
Chapter Twelve: Bad Idea  
Tony disliked knives on principle. He hated guns a lot more though; they were far more destructive and easier to use. He’d made enough of them to realize just how much power can be packed into the form a of a simple 9 millimeter pistol, how drastically a single bullet could affect someone’s life.  
Naturally he wasn’t crazy about being threatened with both at the same time. Honestly, he rather despised the whole situation. Watching Steve- not Steve, fake Steve- awkwardly hold a knife to his throat while pointing a gun at his arc reactor was one of the most unusually heart breaking things he’d ever experienced. He had to remind himself that this was not Steve threatening him, that Steve had not betrayed him.  
All in all, everything about the fake Steve was making him angry.  
It was just so wrong. No one should be able to wear that face or steal those eyes away from Steve. No one should be able to defile Steve’s mouth with that horrifying scowl. Tony swore that he would die before he saw the real Steve’s eyes harden into the hateful ice pools that were currently glaring at him.  
Then there was the issue of Steve’s location. Why had there been so much blood? What were they doing with him? Tony shuddered away from and refused to acknowledge the thought that Steve was dead. Tony’s over active imagination supplied him with one too many horrifying scenarios; cruel hands touching and hurting what was his. (The startling fact that this particular thought had crossed his mind at all would be addressed later.)  
Tony had to contain the urge to fight the imposter in front of him, to scratch and bite and kick to his very last breath just to hurt him for trying to steal from Tony. He used snark as a weapon instead. “Wow, are they just pumping super soldiers off the conveyor belts now? I must admit, it’s a fantastic replicate, but I really prefer the original.”  
The imposter growled. “Stop fucking around, Stark. You know what I’m here for. If you want to live, you’ll give me the kid and cut the crap.”  
Tony winced theatrically. “The word ’fuck’ just sounds wrong coming from the mouth of Steve Rogers.” He was awarded with a painful swipe from the knife across his cheek. “Ow.”  
“I mean it, Stark.” The fake Steve glared down at Tony menacingly. He looked clumsy, off center almost. His awkward hold on the gun told Tony he wasn’t ambidextrous and really had no business holding a gun and a knife at the same time.  
“You realize that, seeing as I am sort of at your mercy for the moment, having two weapons out at the same time is just making you look stupid? It’s not particularly intimidating.” The gun went off much to his surprise; Tony half expected to look down and see a gaping bullet wound where his arc reactor should be- which was a ridiculous expectation since it was close to indestructible- but pseudo-Steve had only shot the floor. Tony controlled his fear, focusing on the anger still pooling in his stomach. “Jesus, man. I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish here. The only way that you’re getting out of this elevator is if I tell Jarvis to let you out. He’s already alerted the Avengers of my current predicament. You’ve got limited options, my friend.”  
The man seemed to struggle with that information, only seeming to become more aggravated. Tony decided he had a better rate of survival if he kept talking, buying himself time so his team could help him. “I’d be willing to cut you a break if you lowered your weapons for a moment.” The man thought it over and lowered his knife a few inches. “That works. I’m sure you’ve managed to derive the nature of my relationship with Steve?” The man’s lip curled up in an almost disgusted and baleful expression that looked completely wrong of the face it adorned. “I’ll take that as a yes. I only take care of the kid because Steve wants me too. I kinda hate children. We could both benefit from you taking him off my hands.” The lie slid easily off Tony’s tongue, but it burned like fire and made his skin crawl. He wished he could scrub the very thought of this man touching Peter from his mind with bleach and wire scrub brush. “You just have to tell me where Steve is. I’ll go fetch him, and you can have your way with the brat. He thinks that I was none the wiser and did all I could to save him, and I get out of taking care of that abomination.”  
The fake Steve eyed his warily. “You drive a hard bargain, Stark.”  
Tony choked back the bile rising in his throat and forced a grin on his face. “I’m nothing if not a businessman. Jarvis, top floor, please.” Tony turned toward the door with a sniff and put his hands in his pockets in the most laid back gesture he could manage. He glanced at fake Steve out of the corner of his eye. “The doors won’t open until you tell me where Steve is.”  
The man’s eyes seemed to harden further, and Tony knew that negotiations were over.  
The fake Steve was a disgrace to the elegance of Captain America; Tony was shocked by how clumsy and slow the man was in comparison to the super soldier. Iron Man and Captain America had sparred often enough that Tony had forgotten how slow a normal person moved in a fight.  
He was able to dodge and weave around the imposter, cursing the small space of the elevator and the over abundance of corners. Despite his speed and skill, fake Steve had him out matched in strength and size, making it difficult to evade the knife that seemed to be flailed almost aimlessly around the small elevator. Fake Steve hit his mark three times before the elevator reached the top level, scratching and stabbing superficially. The gun was practically forgotten, much to Tony’s delight.  
He felt a stab of relief when the elevator doors slid open to reveal the oh-so-welcome sight of Natasha in her full battle get up. In reality, the stabbing feeling was a knife entering his side, but he preferred to think of it as relief.  
Tony stumbled out of the elevator and waited the whole six seconds it took for Natasha to knock the imposter out cold before he started whining. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Seriously? I hate this shit. Can we go a solid day without someone getting kidnapped? Just one day, that’s all I ask.” Natasha rolled her eyes at him and led him past Clint, who was currently tying up the fake Steve, to be examined by Bruce.  
Bruce patched Tony up in silence while Clint and Natasha secured the fake Steve to a chair and alerted SHIELD. Tony refused to let any SHIELD agents up until they had gotten the information they needed from the imposter. The two spies kept sharing unsure and concerned glances as they watched Tony’s face. He was glaring at the unconscious form with a dark expression none of them had seen on the genius before.  
Bruce felt kind of bad for the fake Steve. He wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that look. He would have chosen a head on fight with the Hulk over being on Tony Stark’s bad side. That man could bring the world to its knees if he wanted to.  
Tony face only darkened further when he heard Thor trying to sooth the sobs of baby Peter at the end of the hall. “Jarvis, I want whatever room Peter is in on lock down until the floor is secure. Make sure Thor doesn’t panic when you do it.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
The sound of the AI’s voice roused the fake; his eyes flashed wildly as he took in his surroundings. His attention fell on each of the present Avengers respectively, lingering on Bruce for a moment longer than the rest, before he focused on Tony.  
“Good morning, sunshine.” A rare seriousness had befallen the genius’ tone that made the fake Steve pause. He glared but didn’t speak. “I want you to tell me where Steve is.”  
“How about you let me go or I’ll expose your little bargaining chip to your friends. I’m sure Rogers would be thrilled to hear it.”  
Clint scoffed and chuckled darkly. “Jarvis was running the security footage to us, dumbass. He was obviously lying.” The fake Steve turned his glare to Clint.  
“You should really tell us where Steve is.” Tony stood despite Bruce’s warning look. He took a few steps closer to the man and looked down at him with all the anger that had been building since Jarvis had revealed the imposter. “I can guarantee I will find him, with or without your help. By all means, make it more difficult. Give me an excuse to rip you apart.” Fake Steve cowered slightly from Tony’s tone.  
“You won’t find him alive. Not without my help. You need me.” There was a definite note of fear in the man’s voice that Tony felt all too satisfied hearing. He distractedly thought that Steve would never be this weak in the face of danger; this imposter was everything that Steve wasn’t.  
It was in that moment that he knew he loved Steve Rogers.  
He chuckled darkly. “What an inconvenient time to have an epiphany.” He muttered mostly to himself.  
“What kind of epiphany?” Everyone in the room jumped and stared at Steve, who was nonchalantly leaning in the doorway. He had an ugly looking gash on his right temple, but looked steady on his feet and fairly uninjured otherwise. It looked like the wound was already healing.  
Clint was the first to react. “Jesus. There are officially too many Steves in this room. I thought you were fucking kidnapped, man. How do we know you’re not another Steve-poster?” Natasha rolled her eyes but maintained a defensible position that displayed her distrust.  
Tony smiled mischievously at Clint before waltzing up to the super-soldier and stepped close enough to suggest what he was thinking. He was not disappointed; Steve quickly reached out, pulling the genius flush against himself and gently locking lips with lips. Tony hummed contentedly into the kiss, basking in the heat that had been missing with the imposter, before he pulled away with a huge grin.  
“Yup. This is the genuine article.” He nodded his affirmative and stepped away from Steve so he could see the expressions on his team mate’s faces. Steve didn’t let him move though. He looked back to see Steve’s eyes flicking from Tony’s stomach to his cheek and back.  
“Tony, why are you bleeding?”  
“I stabbed him,” the other Steve was glaring at the couple with a disgusted expression. Steve fixed the man with a genuinely frightening look.  
Clint whistled. “Oh, that was a really, really bad idea, buddy.”  
Chapter Thirteen: Daddy-Duty is Permanent for Most, Why Not Them?  
Director Fury waited patiently for the elevator doors to open onto the Avenger’s floor of Stark Tower. He had been told that a spy had been sent in, supposedly to “replace” Rogers. He was a little apprehensive about what he would find.  
He did not expect to have the doors open and immediately hear the sounds of sobbing. “I’m so sorry. God, please don’t hurt me. I’ll do anything; I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” Someone was blubbering and rambling in the living room. Fury sighed. Romanoff was probably antagonizing the poor man.  
He was in the doorway when he heard Rogers reply in a deadly even voice. “I couldn’t hear you.” He rounded the corner to see the Captain holding another Captain against the wall by the collar of his shirt. The man was pale and looked like he was about to pass out from fear.  
Rogers slammed him against the wall hard enough to make it shake. “Jesus, fuck, god damn, please, I’m so fucking sorry.” Tony was hovering behind Rogers with a concerned expression as he watched the captain (the real one).  
He placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough, Steve.” The Captain looked confused. “Cruelty doesn’t look good on you.” Steve seemed to think about it before nodding and dropping the man to the floor. He curled into a ball and sobbed.  
Fury wanted to do the same when he saw Captain America wrap his arms around Iron Man.  
“Well, this is going to be hell to deal with.” Steve’s eyes snapped to his and narrowed slightly; Fury saw his arms tighten ever so slightly. Apparently, the Captain was feeling protective that day.  
“I’m going to assume you mean Hydra and not us.”  
“No, I mean both. SHIELD has a strict no fraternization policy.” Fury folded his arms over his chest and glared at everyone in the room.  
“With all due respect, Director, they have every right to be in a relationship. I don’t think SHIELD has any reason to dispute their personal decisions, because technically only one of them is a SHEILD employee.” Romanoff gave the couple a look before leveling her gaze on the director.  
“I don’t actually think that you could stop them if you tried. Personally, I’m happy that they finally figured it out. The amount of unresolved sexual tension was making the other guy twitchy.” Bruce gave Tony a small smile. Tony smiled back, happy to know that he wasn’t the only one who realized just how impossible it was for Fury to control his love life.  
“Watching them kiss is like walking in on your parents though. If I ever catch you having sex, you’d better have some mind bleach ready for me, Stark, because I refuse to live with that in my mind.” Clint’s wicked smile told the couple that he was happy for them.  
Tony watched with an amused expression as the vein on the Director’s head throbbed angrily. “Seriously, Nicky, did you really think you could stop me? If you’re worried about the public finding out, I’ve got people to take care of that. Honestly, my PR people are much better than yours anyway. That’s really up to Steve though. Also, if you try to monopolize him so we can’t be together, I will sick Pepper on you.” Tony smirked at the Directors resigned (albeit irritated) expression with obvious triumph.  
Steve just shook his head and gave the director an apologetic look. His arms stayed firmly around Tony’s waist.  
“Fine. SHIELD will take care of the Hydra bases. Give me the map.” Fury watched Tony’s expression darken. He stepped away from Steve and turned to walk toward his workshop.  
“No. I’ll take care of Hydra. I’ve got a personal score to settle with someone called ‘the doctor.’” Steve had told the avengers about his kidnapping, but the director was still in the dark. Steve’s expression told him all he needed to know.  
“Stark, personal vendettas don’t look good in the papers.”  
“Like I said, my PR people are way better than yours. Also, I’m ridding the world of a menace so you should be thanking me. The man’s too stupid to be considered a true super villain, but I’ll make time for him since he tried to kill my- um… Peter and kidnap my man.” The shop elevator closed before Fury could argue with him.  
Fury hated that man.  
00000oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo00000000  
“Just do it, Tony.”  
“You know, I actually have a thing. I just don’t have time; something about… bombs in… Iran or something or rather. I’m so sorry; I’ll just let myself out.” Unfortunately for Tony, Steve could be as solid as a brick wall when he wanted to be and wasn’t moving away from the door. His steely expression was making Tony sweat a little while Peter’s pathetic wails made him cringe.  
“Tony, I’m not going to be the only one caring for this kid. You have to learn.”  
“Look, Spangles. I’m a genius. I don’t need to learn anything. Also, I have a thing about being handed things so this just isn’t going to work out.” Even as Tony desperately searched for a means of escape, Steve was closing in on him. Peter, smelly and wailing in his arms, wiggled uncomfortably in his dirty diaper.  
Steve had Tony in a corner, and they were in the midst of an intense glaring match when Natasha walked in, quiet as death. “Am I interrupting something?”  
Both of the men jumped and turned their attentions to the spy; Tony’s eyes lit up and he launched himself under the captain’s arms, sprinting past the spy to the door. Steve growled and gave the baby to a very unenthusiastic Natasha before running after him.  
“Guys, if you think I am changing this diaper you are out of your minds!” She screeched down the hall. Naturally, Peter started wailing all the louder. Down the corridor, Natasha could hear the sounds of a scuffle and a round of cursing from both Tony and Steve. There was even a small explosion followed by a little cloud of black smoke bellowing lazily down the hall.  
Steve stomped around the corner with a murderous expression, shirt and face blackened, dragging a very downtrodden Tony behind him. “You know the only reason that you got the upper hand is because I love you too much to blow you up, right?”  
“Just change the diaper, Tony.” Steve sighed and tossed Tony into the room face first. He took Peter from Natasha and put him on the changing station, closing and locking the door before Tony could even get up. He leaned against the door and grinned from ear to ear. God, he loved that man.  
“Okay. Okay. Fine. This is nothing Tony Stark can’t handle.” Natasha and Steve listened intently by the door as Tony set about his task. After a few moments of rustling and confused whimpers, Tony seemed to get the hang of it. “Hey this isn’t so ba- OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?!”  
Steve and Natasha’s snorts of laughter were cut off by the ding of an elevator and a very happy Pepper Potts. “Steve! It’s great to see you. This is so exciting. When Tony asked me, I couldn’t even believe it. I’ve got all the paper work with me and everything.” She beamed at them both.  
“Pepper! It’s supposed to be a surprise. Damn it. Oh god. That’s just nasty, Peter.” Tony’s voice was muffled by the door, but Pepper heard him.  
“Oh. Oh! Sorry. Forget I said anything. Is he changing a diaper?” Steve didn’t let her change the topic, curiosity getting the better of him.  
“What’s supposed to be a surprise? What paper work?” Steve opened the door to the new nursery to see a chagrined looking Tony. His eyes flicked to Pepper with an edge of uncertainty.  
“I was going to take you out to dinner tonight to talk to you about this.” Tony said nervously, rubbing a towel between his hands.  
Steve’s curiosity softened as he watched the genius; Steve hadn’t known that nervousness was something Tony was capable of. “About what?” He asked softly, placing a hand on the man’s elbow.  
“I think- well, I got rid of all the Hydra bases, and it’s only a matter of time before they declare the threat to Peter void. Can you imagine what they’ll do to him? What if he had to grow up as a little SHIELD agent, and they’ll probably exploit his spidey powers. It’s just not right. He needs a family and I know I’m not exactly great at taking care of myself- but I’ve got you to take care of me and you’re really good at it. I know you’d be a fantastic father and I’m fairly certain I could make it work so long as you help me. I’m just-“  
“Tony, you’re rambling. What are you trying to ask?” Tony seemed to search Steve’s face for a second, pursing his lips. Finally, he took a really deep breath.  
“I think we should adopt Peter.” Steve blanched, jaw dropping and eyes popping out like a cartoon character. Tony took this as a bad sign and decided it was time to start rambling again. “I mean, I know it’s not really normal for people who aren’t married to adopt, but we’ve got Pepper here, who is unstoppable and has clearly already found a way to work it. I asked her first, she thought that we would be good parents, but she could have been lying to shut me up because I was rambling. I mean we could get married first if you want. If you want to, I mean you don’t have to marry me. I don’t care- well, I do care but I mean it’s- We can just adopt him and not be married and Pepper would be the god mother, because I shudder to think of Natasha caring for him. The avengers will be like his extended family-“ Tony was finally quieted by the fierce kiss from the Captain. Tony continued to mumble into the kiss but began to relax into it after a moment or two.  
Steve pulled way with tears in his eyes. “That was the worst proposal ever.”  
Tony seemed a little dumbstruck, but managed to nod up at Steve, his mind trying to think of ways to make it better. “I- Okay. That’s fine. I realize-“ He was cut off by another kiss.  
“Pepper, can we have the adoption papers please?” Hs eyes stayed locked on Tony’s as he took the papers that were handed out to him. “One step at a time.” He pulled Tony into the nursery and picked up Peter. “Hey buddy, guess what? You’re going to be ours from now on. I’ll be your pop, and he’ll be your dad.” Steve’s smile could have blinded the entire population of New York.  
“Seeb!” The baby squealed happily, waving his arms enthusiastically.  
Out in the hall Natasha and Pepper were watching with tears in their (Pepper’s) eyes. “They’re just so… cute.” Natasha muttered with a look somewhere between nausea and awe.  
“What’s so cute?” Barton appeared out of nowhere, making Pepper jump.  
“Tony and Steve are adopting Peter.”  
“No way. Stark agreed to that?” Clint stared at the couple and the giggling child, who was playing with the arc reactor from his place in Steve’s arms.  
“It was my idea, Bird Brain. Don’t start; I swear I will break your bow.”  
“Jeez, no need to get feisty. You realize, of course, that I refuse to be his god father, no matter how much you beg or plead.”  
Bruce turned around the corner and took in the congregation before asking, “so did Steve agree to it then?”  
Tony grinned at the scientist. “Like he could refuse. Daddy-Duty is just too much fun.”  
Parenting Part One  
Two weeks.  
Tony had been an official, documented parent for two weeks. Fourteen short days filled with Steve and Peter and a whole lot of diapers.  
Steve was thrilled that after only four days of intense this-is-how-you-make-sure-he-doesn’t-die lessons, he was able to comfortably leave the child in his boyfriend’s capable hands. Peter seemed to thrive on Tony’s attention; every time Tony entered the nursery (a new addition to Stark Tower), Peter vibrated with excitement, reaching for the genius and happily screeching out his name. Unless, of course, he was in a particularly bad mood.  
Tony wasn’t quite prepared for one of Peter’s bad days.  
“Shhhhhh… Peter, buddy, you’re killing me. What’s wrong?” The wailing continued, undeterred by any amount of bouncing, shushed words, or cuddliness on Tony’s part. He had spent two hours trying to calm the child, using all of his not inconsiderable brain power to find a solution. He was a problem solving machine; he should be able to calm a screaming child! He looked at his long forgotten tablet longingly; he had been so close to a break through.  
“What happened, Tony?” Steve rushed into the room, fresh and damp from a post work out shower. He took one look at Tony’s panicky expression and the screaming child and let out a low groan. “So it’s going to be one of those days, huh?” Steve shook his head, dislodging a few damp strands of hair that hung limply in front of his eyes.  
“What days? What do you mean?” Tony looked down at the baby, who had started squirming, drooling, and writhing in his arms.  
“Some days he just won’t stop crying for no particular reason. Then he falls asleep and is happy as a clam when he wakes up.” Steve shrugged and held out his arms for Tony to place the baby in. Steve was shocked when Tony recoiled from the gesture rather than depositing the child and running for the hills.  
Tony’s eyes were wide and staring blankly at the child in a way that Steve recognized as calculation and intense thought. Steve didn’t entirely grasped how impossible it was for him to really understand what was going through Tony’s mind, an endless stream of probabilities, percentages and variables flashed behind his eyes. “What if he’s sick? We don’t exactly know what the spidey powers could be doing to his anatomy; he could be in pain. Jarvis! Run some tests; make sure he’s healthy. In the mean time, how do we get him to sleep?”  
“May I suggest warm milk, Sir?”  
Tony glowered at the ceiling. “Really, Jarvis? Most intelligent system in the world and that’s the best you can come up with? Warm milk?”  
Steve chuckled, trying unsuccessfully to hide the immense pride and love that had swelled in his chest as he watched Tony care for his child. Their child. Tony seemed to catch on to his thought process, cocking his head to one side and giving Steve a somewhat exasperated smile.  
“I know I’m amazing and all, but if you keep staring at me with those hell-sent puppy dog eyes, I’m never going to get Peter to sleep.” Steve chuckled again, unable to stop himself despite the subtle insult. They way Tony said Peter’s name made Steve’s heart leap. The man wasn’t nearly as heartless as he let the world believe.  
“Sir, I believe I have discovered the problem.” Tony’s head jerked up at the sound of Jarvis’ voice, looking hopeful and terrified at the same time behind a perfect scowl. No one who didn’t know Tony inside and out would be able to see the fear there.  
“Well, by all means, Jarvis, keep us in the dark as long as you like,” he spat venomously.  
“It seems that Master Peter is teething. May I suggest you purchase some teething rings and oral gels to ease the pain?”  
Tony and Steve stared at each other for a few moments. “Let me guess; you had no idea that this would happen?” Tony said in a strained voice.  
Steve had a look of horror and chagrin on his face. “I hadn’t occurred to me, no.”  
“God, we suck.”

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this on FF a while ago, but thought I may as well throw it on here. I don't know if I'll ever continue it, but anything can happen. Better to keep you clinging to that small shred of hope and drag it out. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it :)


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